‘Super Fog’ Causes Scary 30-Vehicle Pileup In Texas On New Year’s Day

Thick fog caused a massive pileup on a highway in Austin, Texas on New Year’s Day.

More than 50 people were evaluated by paramedics and nine were taken to hospitals after multiple collisions along State Highway 130, according to CBS DFW. The Austin Police Department said between 20 to 30 vehicles were involved in wrecks near Harold Green Road. The accident happened on January 1 before 1:30 a.m. as thick fog covered the highway.

The horrific moments were captured by a dashcam mounted on a car that managed to avoid hitting the vehicles that were piled up on the highway due to the thick fog. However, the driver didn’t manage to avoid getting struck from behind, and the footage shows that the force of the impact was really big.

There is dense fog in some parts of Austin making it hard to see when you are driving! Be safe on the road, slow down, drive with caution. If you’ve been drinking, do not get behind the wheel! #ATXtraffichttps://t.co/dHu5k9sG7c

As they entered dense fog, the cammer turned on the hazard lights and started to apply the brakes. Fortunately, they slowed down just in time to avoid crashing into the stationary cars right in front of them. However, they didn’t have the time to move to the right as another car smashed into them from behind. As usual, it’s not enough for you to drive safely and be prudent – the other road users should do the same, or you might get caught in an accident.

According to meteorologists, the “super fog” led to extremely low visibility in low lying areas. Smoke from fireworks is said to have helped the fog formation, leading to visibility of under 10 feet (3 meters), a really rare phenomenon in Texas.

The mess left behind by the pileup was so big that it took crews all night to clean up the wreckage. All lanes of the highway reopened by 9 a.m. on January 1.

Why does the media have to label everything “super” when it’s really just an bad example? This was an extreme case of dense fog but nothing super about it. In those kinds of situations, the best thing to do is to simply slow down, put flashers on and stop if necessary. Pretty simple yet there are always the idiots that think that because they are in a big 4×4 or have all-wheel-drive that they can magically defy the facts of physics or that they are vastly superior drivers. And this causes situations just like this.

charlotteharry57

Lack of common sense has become Public Enemy #1 in the United States.

Kenny Sharp

The main problem is that the speed limit on the road is 80 mph and the drivers never want to slow down even if it’s raining. This is a toll road that i work on and there’s always accidents because no one wants to slow down when they should.

TheHunnn

Kenny, I drive that road all the time, the problem isn’t the speed limit, it’s idiots. No matter the speed limit, you should adjust your speed to conditions. I love that road and the higher speed limit on it, I can actually open up my car a little, but when the weather goes to shit, I slow down.

ksegg

That’s using common sense. Which is rare for most people.

Paul

Talk about a long lead in to the climax. WOW.

Jason Miller

Love the left lane hogging Tahoe at the beginning.

sidewaysspin

You can’t do anything because it basically comes out of nowhere, suddenly you can’t see nothing you just hope for the best.

Momogg

Fog or snow = 50km/h or less + 50m safety distance or more.That’s it.

Momogg

At 2:30 you can see the beginning of the big fog, he needed 15seconds to realize “i need to slow down”. 🤔

rodriguez256

I live just south in San Antonio and it was just like this on New Years here. Thankfully I live down the street from where we celebrated.